In battery modules for use in electric cars and hybrid cars, several electric cells are connected in transverse juxtaposition in order to increase the output. The plurality of electric cells is connected in series or in parallel by connecting electrode terminals of the electric cells adjacent to each other with members such as bus bars.
Assembly of the battery module having the above structure requires the connecting members to connect the electrode terminals at plural positions, which thus necessitates a cumbersome operation to repeat the operations for connecting the electrode terminals with the connecting members.
With the above background, one proposal is made that a use of a battery connecting plate in which, in accordance with the number of inter-terminal spaces between the electrode terminals to be connected, a plurality of connecting members disposed in a die is integrated into a resin by a method such as insert molding (e.g., see, Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3990960
With use of the battery connecting plate disclosed in the above Patent Document 1, the plurality of inter-terminal spaces between the electrode terminals of the electric cells adjacent to each other is collectively connectable simply by attaching the single battery connecting plate to the plurality of electrode terminals protruding from the plurality of electric cells, which enhances the operational efficiency.
However, since assembly tolerance is set between the plurality of juxtaposed electric cells, pitches between the electrode terminals of the adjacent electric cells may not become constant in the battery module in which the plurality of electric cells is juxtaposed. When the above-described battery connecting plate is connected to the electrode terminals with the non-constant pitches, the electrode terminals and the connecting members of the battery connecting plate may be positionally misaligned, which can lead to reduction in the efficiency of the connecting operations of the battery connecting plate.
Further, when the non-constancy of the pitches between the electrode terminals is increased due to shrinkage or expansion of the electric cells of the battery module in the direction in which the electric cells are juxtaposed, the integrally-molded connecting plate described above may not be able to compensate the positional misalignment.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a battery module in which non-constancy of pitches between adjacent electrode terminals is easily adjustable.